If you are a junior or older in college then it is time for life to get real… It’s time to get an internship. I am currently in my junior year and this summer I have to get an internship. Getting an internship can be exciting, nerve racking, and stressful all at this same time. I know I definitely feel all of these emotions while I apply to these internships. Here are some tips that I recommend to make the process less stressful.
Resume & Cover Letter
Before you even start looking for internships you need a resume. A resume is a summary of basically everything you have done in your college career. This can include your GPA, work experience, campus involvement, awards, volunteer, and more. Anything that you have done during your college career that you think will make you stand out, write it down. Nothing is too small or insignificant where you think you shouldn’t put it on there. You want to make sure your resume has no mistakes or grammatical errors. At my college we have resources where people can look over your resume and give you feedback on it. I highly recommend that if your school does that to take advantage of that resource. Not all internships require a cover letter but it’s also good to have one of those ready just in case they do. Even if they don’t you can still upload it with your resume and it will show that you are extremely interested.
Finding Internships
After you have your resume, it’s time to start seeing what kind of internships you want to do. When it comes to this step you have to have an open mind. Internships are very competitive so you can’t just have your mind set on one internship, with one company, in one field. My best advice is to find one’s where you think you would fit best in that company. When you find one that sparks your interest you should read up on the company and read the requirements of the internships. You should look for things like start/end dates, paid or unpaid, in person or remote, Ect. There are many unique things that are required in each internship so you definitely need to make sure to read what they provide before applying. If you have no idea what to use to look for internships there are many apps like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, Handshake, and more. You can even do a quick google search of your major and then add “internship” and many will come up.
The Waiting Game
This is what I would say is the worst part of applying for internships, the waiting game. It could take weeks and even months for any of your internships to get back to you. This is why I recommend applying to as many as you see fit for you. The more you apply for the better the chance you have of at least one reaching out. During this time just remember that you are enough. Don’t get worried or nervous if none of them reach out to you for a while. Some internships get thousands of applications so they need time to review all of them.
This is what has worked for me while applying for internships. Just know that you don’t have to get it all done in one day. Maybe take a half an hour a day to look and apply to some. And if you don’t get the exact one you want just know that that’s okay. An internship is temporary just to get some experience in your major. One of the many internships you apply to will get back to you and what’s meant to be will be!